December, 1937
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
469
Around the King's Table By PAUL W. ROOD
“The Son o f Man Is Come” W ITH the approach of the Christmas season, the Christian minister faces a wonderful opportunity to preach the gospel. That gospel should be his theme throughout the year, but there are people who will come to church at Christmas who do not attend services at any other time. What a challenge is presented to the preacher to make the most of this occasion! Texts that deal with the Incarnation lend themselves to evangelistic treatment. The prophecies in the Old Testament concern ing the birth of Christ, and the record in the New Testament bearing upon the ful fillment of those prophecies, all can be used effectively for gospel sermons. Our brethren in the ministry may feel led to deal with the subject of “The Incarnation of Christ” on the basis of Luke 19:10: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” For those who would meditate upon the stupendous truth which this brief text contains, the following sim ple outline may be useful. The Necessity of the Incarnation: Man is “lost.” A sinner by nature and by practice, man has no hope within himself. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way” (Isa. 53:6). Sheep, unlike other animals when they are lost, cannot find their way home unaided. Likewise man is utterly unable to return to God apart from the Saviour, for Christ Himself said: “No man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). The Fact of the Incarnation: “The Son of man is come.” No intelligent person denies the his toricity of Jesus. The life of no other in dividual has affected so profoundly the whole course of human affairs as has the advent of Jesus, the Son of God. The Method of the Incarnation: “The Son of man.” Born of a virgin, the One who is ever “very God of very God” received a human body in order that He might thus identify Himself with the human race and become its Saviour. He “took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: . . . and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:7, 8). In the Lord Jesus Christ, “God was manifest in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16). The Purpose of the Incarnation: “To seek and to save.” Christ came to be our Redeemer—and this purpose required His death on our be half. He is the only One who ever came to this world for the express purpose of dying. “Christ . . . suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us
prison. When he was released in October, he received orders from the Communist headquarters to go to Salinas, but he de cided to come to Los Angeles instead. He was tired of the old life. On Monday, October 18, as John was walking down Hope Street, he saw the sign, “JESUS SAVES,” on top of the Bible Institute. In letters seven feet high, this simple sign, glowing at night with neon lighting, steadily proclaims to passers-by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Prayer is often made in the Institute circle that God may use this testimony to draw lost men and women to the Saviour. Arrested by the words of the sign, John made his way to the building, came into my office, and poured out his story. In His grace, the Lord had been pre paring for this contact, both from outside and from within the walls of Biola. Throughout that day the prayer of the psalmist in Psalm 86:17, “Show me a token for good,” had been on my heart. I found myself uttering this prayer repeatedly. And here was a Communist agitator in my office! The Spirit of God had created in this man’s heart a hunger for peace and had directed him to me. It was indeed a God-given opportunity. The Lord was showing me a token for good. It was my privilege to turn this spiritually hungry one to the third chapter of John and to explain the necessity of the new birth and show him how he could be born again. After I had quoted several passages of Scripture and had explained the plan of salvation, we knelt together in prayer, and John ac cepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his per sonal Saviour. He expressed an eager willingness to work just as hard for the Lord from then on as he had been working for the devil. He promised to read the Gospel of John and to pray and to testify for Christ. Wednesday evening, he came back to the office and asked the question, “Do I look different? I feel different and I am dif ferent and I am going through with Jesus.” Yes, he was a changed man, and his very appearance was changed. His sins were forgiven and his soul was saved and he was a child of God. New problems were his—serious ones—but now they could be faced in the power of the indwelling Saviour. He told me about the experience he had had in the Fishermen’s Club on Monday evening. “The men I used to associate with met in dark rooms with a watchman at the door. We hated God, the church, and so ciety. We were out to tear down. We were unhappy. In the Fishermen’s Club, [Continued on page 508]
to God” (1 Pet. 3:18). His death was an atoning death, and the lengthening shadows of the cross appear even at Bethlehem. As we meditate upon the great truth of the Incarnation, two facts impress them selves upon our minds. First, Christ would use His followers as witnesses to tell out the story of His redeeming love (Acts 1:8). And second, the lost soul—whoever or wherever he may be—may be saved by looking to the Lamb of God and accepting Him as personal Saviour. No one will be cast out who comes to Him in faith, for saking sin, for He has said: “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). Shall we not come, just as we are, and come now! A Communist Finds That “Jesus Saves” Six years ago John was a waiter in a large hotel in San Francisco. One of his fellow employees was a Communist, and he induced John to enter a Communist school where he spent a year preparing himself for his future work as an agitator. He then was sent to various communities to foment trouble. He joined three secret societies, at the instigation of the Commun ist headquarters, and, his dues were paid out of the Communist funds. His work was to bore from within these organizations. While John was in Modesto, California, to stir up trouble among the fruit pickers, he was arrested and was sent to a Federal
TORREY CONFERENCE
Reuben Archer Torrey • The Third Annual Torrey Memorial Bible Conference is scheduled to meet at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles from January 23 to 30, 1938, with the following among the speakers planned: H. A. Ironside, Chicago, III.; Mark Matthews, Seattle, Wash., and J. Oliver Buswell, Wheaton, III. There will be prophetic subjects in the evenings and Bible lectures at the day sessions.
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter